Megaman: If People Switched
by Amalasuintha
Summary: [Title may change.] AU. How things might have been had Lan been the snobby rich kid, and if Chaud was your average energetic schoolboy. Inspired by some posts I saw on Tumblr. This will likely have both anime and game influences.
1. Good Morning, Now Eat Dirt

Megaman sucked in a breath. It was 6:43. Two more minutes and it would be time to wake up his NetOp. If Megaman was just a few minutes late—say, he woke his NetOp at 6:50—he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it. Such was being the NetNavi of the most self-entitled kid in all of DenTech.

He checked the clock again. It was time. Turning his attention to the human world, Megaman took a moment to appreciate how peaceful his NetOp looked asleep. The moment was short lived, however.

"Lan!" the Navi yelled. "It's time to get up! You don't want to be late for school, do you?"

It was a stupid question. Lan was never late. _Never._

Lan stirred and groaned, immediately getting to work at kicking his covers off. "That's Lord Lan to—" He yawned. "—you, Megaman."

Ah, Lan was such a darling in the morning.

"Sorry Master Lan." Megaman sighed. "But you still need to get up. Mom's waiting for you to start breakfast, and you don't want to keep her waiting, sir."

"Yeah yeah; whatever."

Lan hastily climbed out of bed and donned his usual dress: A long sleeved white shirt, black pants with orange stripes down the sides, and a bandana with the Hikari family symbol tied around his right upper arm. Once dressed, he grabbed Megaman's PET and secured it to his belt before heading downstairs. Currently, Lan and his parents still lived in the small, two-story white and blue house they had for eleven-plus years, but Lan's father, Dr. Hikari, mentioned them moving once Lan finished elementary school.

Alas, that was still a school year away. So, for now, Lan was stuck in this puny little house he would have no qualms about leaving.

Downstairs, the smell of eggs, rice, and beef stew—_Leftovers for breakfast, really? At least it's Mom's cooking._—wafted from the kitchen to the scent receptors inside of Lan's nose. For leftover beef stew and simple rice and eggs, it smelled pretty good.

"Lan, you're up! I started to worry that you slept in." Haruka stepped out of the kitchen with a wide smile. Lan noticed that she wore the pearls his father bought her last week, but wore a really unimpressive green skirt and purple and white tee.

"Mom, tell me you aren't going out in that. Please."

Haruka chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. "Go sit. I'll bring the food out."

"I-I think you look lovely, Mom!" Megaman stammered from his PET. Although he couldn't technically see Haruka, she always looked so pretty no matter what she wore.

"Aw, thank you honey. Now Lan, what did I tell you?" She grabbed Lan by her shoulders and forced him to turn around. "Go sit!" With a gentle push, Haruka sent her son into the dining room before doubling back into the kitchen to bring out breakfast. Momentarily alone, Lan whipped out his PET and glared at it.

"Thanks a lot Megaman," he hissed. "I looked like a jerk in front of Mom." Megaman opened his mouth to apologize, but Lan cut him off. "Forget it." Lan shoved his PET back into its carrier just as Haruka walked in, carrying a tray filled with food for them both.

In his PET, Megaman sighed and fell back onto the cyber-floor beneath him. "The things I go through just for being nice." Rolling onto his stomach, Megaman began tracing patterns on the yellow-y white panels. After a bit, he smiled. _Nice. Roll sure is nice. She's always so cheery and kind…_ And cute, which he wanted to add, but Megaman settled for kind. Yes, kind fit her very well. It was as if Roll oozed kindness and if you just touched her you'd be covered in some kind of pink kind-goo. "Heh. Kind-goo…"

* * *

Maylu stood outside of Lan's house, waiting for him to come out and greet her. They always walked to school together and today was no different. And, like always, Maylu arrived several minutes early despite how they lived next door to each other. She just wanted to feel like he was late instead of agonizingly on time. For two people who were supposed to be the best of friends, they really didn't get along well. Or even try to. It was like trying to mix water and oil; they just didn't go together.

Well, water and oil never went together. But, once upon a time, Lan and Maylu actually were the best of friends. Unfortunately—what was that saying again? Oh, right—all good things must come to an end.

"It's too bad. I know you had a crush on him, y'know."

Maylu's eyes shot open. She hadn't said anything, had she?

"No, you didn't," Roll continued, as if carrying on a casual conversation. "But I know you, Maylu, and whenever we wait for Lan to be on time, again, for the hundredth thousandth time, you always think about how you guys once got along and how he changed. And then when I say something about it, you act all surprised." Roll giggled. "It's cute!"

"Rooooolllllll," Maylu whined, pulling out her pink PET and frowning at it. "One day Lan is going to hear you, and I don't need _that_ happening."

The pink Navi put her hands on her hips, silently challenging her NetOp to continue arguing with her. "He's not going to hear us. We have two minutes and fifteen seconds before he's even near the door. Why don't you just go in and get him?"

"Because," Maylu sighed, leaning against the front of the house. "If I did that then he'd act like I was waiting for him or something."

"But you _are_ waiting for him! Every morning, you wait for ten minutes just so you can feel like he's late." She threw her hands in the air. "You should just go in and get him, or let him walk alone to school. He's a jerk, anyways. Megaman is the only nice one of the two, and his mother doesn't deserve a brat like him."

"Calm down Roll, Lan already doesn't have any friends because of his attitude. Let's try not to trash talk him while we're on his front porch, okay?"

Huffing, Roll puffed out her cheeks. "Fine, but only if we can trash talk him at home."

"Deal."

They shared a mischievous smirk before Lan came out and Maylu had to put her PET away. "Ready?" she asked. He ignored her, adjusting the straps on his book bag as he walked towards school. She followed, already regretting not taking Roll's advice and walking to school alone today.

They walked most of the way in silence; it wasn't until they entered the school gates that Maylu said, "Hey, remember the new student Ms. Mari told us about?" When Lan responded with a grunt, she took that as a 'yes' and continued. "He's supposed to be here today. I wonder what he's like?"

"Who cares?" Lan snorted. "What, are you hoping he'll become your new boyfriend or something?"

Maylu slammed her elbow into Lan's ribcage, ignoring his cry of pain and shock as he doubled over, clutching his wounded side. "No," she said, not sparing him a moment's glance, "I hadn't even thought of that, but hey, if he's half as nice as you are a jerk then he might just be perfect!" She stormed off, leaving Lan to regain his breath and listen to Megaman fuss over him and the pain in his side.

Oh, and to have someone run into him from behind.

Wait, what?

Someone crashed into Lan from behind, knocking both themselves and Lan into the dirt. Worse yet, the unknown person landed on top of Lan, whose temper flared. He pressed his palms to the ground and jerked to the side, knocking off whoever was on top of him. "Great," he muttered, "now I'm filthy." Taking a moment to dust himself off, Lan looked at his 'attacker'. A boy around his age, with weird black and white hair and a poorly made red vest, stared back at him, a look of horror on his face.

"I'm sorry!" the boy exclaimed. "I wasn't paying attention; I didn't mean to hit you. Here!" The boy stood and grabbed Lan's wrists, pulling him up with such vigor that Lan felt his arms nearly pop out of their sockets, ligaments and tissues stretching and tearing from how callously the strange boy treated them. Just as well, the sudden transition from sitting to standing sent a wave of dizziness over Lan, giving the dual-haired boy just enough time to blather off another apology and take off running.

_What's his rush?_ Lan wondered as the world righted itself beneath his feet.

"Master Lan," Megaman called, "Master Lan! Master Lan, the bell! You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"

"What are you talking about? I'm never—" He pulled out his PET and gaped when he saw the time. He had less than three minutes to get the class. "Argggh!" Lan yelled, running full speed into the school. He hoped he could make it before his perfect record of never being late was ruined. _Stupid kid,_ he thought, _I better not be late because of him._

* * *

Ms. Mari looked over her class, smiling as everyone was accounted for, even Lan who had barely made it in time. "All right class, settle down. I have some big news today!"

"Early summer break?"

"We can NetBattle all day?"

"Field trip to the Moon?!"

Ms. Mari shook her head. "No, no, and definitely no!" Sighing, she turned to the door. "Everyone, let's give a nice, big 5th grade welcome to our new student!" With a flourish of the arm towards the door, it opened, and in walked the new student with a wide smile on his face—until he saw Lan and the glare he was receiving from the brown-haired boy. He slinked head down to the front of the class, next to Ms. Mari who put a reassuring arm around his shoulders. "Go on, introduce yourself," she prodded. "Don't be shy! We won't bite."

"Just great," Lan muttered. "Of course he's the new student."

"Shhh, pay attention," Megaman hissed.

"I'm Chaud," the boy announced. "My dad and I just moved here for his job. My NetNavi is Protoman, and we're pretty good at battling. Hey, maybe I can battle some of you guys sometime!" Chaud brightened up considerably at that. Some of the students responded with shouts of, "You're on!" and "I bet you're not so tough!" Ms. Mari had to clear her throat a few times to get the class to return their attention to her.

"Now now, I don't mind you kids NetBattling, but remember that it is against the rules to battle on school property or anywhere that is not specifically designated for NetBattles, okay?" The class chorused their agreement and Ms. Mari nodded. "Good. Chaud, there's an open seat next to Dex. Go sit."

"Yes ma'am." Chaud trotted over to his desk, flashing the larger boy he assumed to be Dex a smile. The larger boy sneered at him, but either Chaud didn't notice or didn't care, as he was practically vibrating with joy. He was seated next to a window, had a nice teacher—this was great! He was so happy he didn't even notice Ms. Mari start the class.

* * *

Protoman sighed. Another school, another empty space of a school computer. This was Chaud's third school in six—no, seven now, years of school. Personally, Protoman didn't mind moving, but he worried more for his NetOp. Ah well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

He wondered if this year would be different for Chaud. Maybe he could convince Chaud to get a tutor. It could help.

Protoman created a new memo: _Ask about good tutors._ He paused and added, _Convince/Trick Chaud into getting a tutor._

As he started making folders for Chaud's homework and notes, someone streamed into his comp. A pink Navi digitized a little ways off to his right. He craned his neck to get a good look at her.

She was almost completely pink from head to toe, except for a little black on her arms and legs, and some yellow. Two ribbons protruded from the front of her helmet, arching in perfect semi-circles behind her head. She stared at him with bright green eyes and smiled one of those super bright, mega-cheery smiles Protoman often saw Chaud sporting.

"Hi!"

"Hello." Protoman closed the folders and approached the new Navi with some caution. "Who are you?"

"I'm Roll, Maylu's Navi." Roll extended her hand to Protoman. "You're Chaud's Navi, Protoman, right? It's nice to meet you."

He took her hand and shook it once, firmly. "Likewise."

She giggled. His lips quirked into a small smile.

"So, how do you like DenTech so far?" she asked, rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet.

"DenTech seems suitable. Chaud definitely enjoys it here."

"Well, he better! DenTech's a really nice place; I'm sure you'll learn to like it here, too. Hey! Why don't we go over to Yai's comp? Glyde and Gutsman are there, and Megaman might join us too."

"I don't know. I really should stay here and—"

"Oh, just for a minute? Please?"

Roll took his hand in hers and leaned in close, fluttering her eyes at him in a way that screamed, _Pretty, pretty please?_ Protoman leaned back, astonished by how pushy she was. Did they not get new students often? Not wanting to be rude or remain under her gaze for much longer, he nodded. "Very well then. Lead the way?"

"Sure!"

She let go of his hand and smiled at him one last time before streaming to Yai's comp, Protoman only steps behind her.


	2. Getting Acquainted

**A/N:** Hey! So, thank you guys for the reviews—I really appreciate them, and I'm glad to see others enjoy this.

To answer the questions I received:

There will be some back story in later chapters. I want this to focus a bit more on the characters and their interactions than the plot, so you guys will get to learn a bit more about Chaud and Lan in the AU.

As for Lan not living in a mansion, his house is the one his parents have lived in since they were married, so they're a little more sentimental about it than Lan is. As for where I got the idea, I follow inarina (recently changed to protomansbutt) on Tumblr and people started to talk a bit about Snobby Rich Lan and Peppy School kid Chaud.

And the last question is actually answered in this chapter.

* * *

" … So as it turned out, Miss Yai did in fact have an appointment with her hairdresser at two, but the woman on the phone neglected to notice that the hairdresser was still on vacation! Poor Miss Yai had to settle with her summer hairdresser instead of her fall. Isn't that just awful? Had we more notice, I could have found someone more suitable to groom Miss Yai's hair, but there simply wasn't enough time before the dinner. And Miss Yai most certainly could not have attended with the hairdo she had then. It would have been an embarrassment! My word, it's as if people just don't pay attention anymore. Don't you agree, Gutsman?"

"I… uh…" Gutsman stared blankly at Glyde, who looked at him, arms crossed, clearly waiting for Gutsman to agree with him. "Guts?"

"Well?" Glyde tapped his foot impatiently. "Are you going to say something or not?"

"Uh, uhhh… Hey, Roll's here!"

"Miss Roll's here? Oh, good—ack!"

Gutsman knocked Glyde to the floor as he lumbered past the smaller Navi, charging at Roll, who screamed as Gutsman hoisted her into the air before enveloping her in a powerful hug. "Roll! Guts, guts!"

"G-Gutsman!" Roll squeaked. "You're c-crushing… me!" She gasped out the last word, the power of Gutsman's hug too much for her. Had she ribs, Gutsman would have crushed them by now.

"Guts! Gutsman sorry, Roll." He released her and she landed on the floor on her hands and knees. Glyde immediately rushed over, but stopped when Protoman stepped out of nowhere and helped Roll to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Protoman asked Roll, giving her a quick once over.

"Yeah," she said with a laugh, "I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" Glyde asked, edging closer only for Protoman's hand to shoot out and stop him. "Excuse me!"

"Your buddy here just about crushed her. Give Roll a moment before you start crowding her."

"And why should we listen to you, guts?" Gutsman knocked Glyde to the floor again and stepped up to Protoman. He glared down at the other Navi, who continued to look on with indifference—though that might have been because of his visor.

"Guys, really, I'm fine! It just hurt a bit, okay? So don't start fighting, please."

There was a tense silence. Gutsman and Protoman stared each other down while Roll and Glyde watched from the sidelines. Protoman was the first to move. He stepped to the side of Roll, allowing Gutsman and Glyde to move closer.

"Thank you," Roll whispered. If Protoman heard her he didn't make any indication of it. "Protoman, meet Gutsman and Glyde. " She gestured to them when she said their names. "Guys, this is Protoman. He and his NetOp are the new students."

"How do you do?" Glyde asked, taking Protoman's hand and shaking it firmly. The red Navi returned the favor.

"Just fine, thanks."

"Humph, aren't you supposed to be a battler?" Leaning back, Gutsman crossed his arms and looked amusedly down at Protoman. "You're kinda puny, guts."

"Hah, puny?" Protoman scoffed. "It's skill that matters, not size."

"Heh. Gutsman can still squash you, guts."

"Oh, _goodie_, he's at it again." Glyde tsk'd Gutsman under his breath and sighed. "I apologize for our oaf of a friend. He's rather… simple-minded."

"What's that mean?!"

Protoman laughed dryly. "I see what you mean. Chaud can be the same way sometimes, so I'm more than used to it."

"Oh? Well, why don't you tell us more about him?"

"Yeah!" Roll agreed. "What's he like?"

"Well…" Scratching his cheek, Protoman struggled to think of a proper way to describe Chaud. For something that sounded so simple, it was surprisingly difficult. "Chaud's… Chaud. I'm not really sure how to describe him." It was an embarrassing realization. He'd known Chaud for over half of the boy's life. How could he not know how to describe his NetOp?

"Just start with what he likes," Roll suggested. "Didn't he mention he liked NetBattling?"

Gutsman sniggered. "I bet he's nothin' compared to Dex, guts."

"Chaud and I held the record for most NetBattles won at his old school," he answered, ignoring Gutsman. "So, yes, he does enjoy battling. Maybe a bit _too_ much."

"Impressive," Glyde praised. "How long have you two been battling?"

"Six years, going on seven."

"And didn't he say that you moved because of his dad's work?" Roll asked. "What does he do?"

"Chaud's father works in an office." He waved his hand. "He does a little bit of this and that. What about your NetOps? What are they like?"

"Dex is the best Netbattler in DenTech, guts!" Gutsman boasted. "We're undefeated, guts."

Although that was most undoubtedly untrue, Protoman humored Gutsman with a polite smile and a nod.

"Miss Yai is my NetOp," Glyde said next. "Her father is the head of AyanoTech, which you've assuredly heard of. She's a very well-rounded young woman, and quite brilliant if I do say so myself. If your NetOp ever has any questions, Miss Yai most definitely has the answer!"

Glyde gushed about Yai like it was his job. Frankly, Yai sounded like your typical rich kid—'_well rounded', 'brilliant'_—and she probably was. Still, Protoman paid rapt attention, as any information for his NetOp was useful, no matter what it was. _And,_ he thought,_ it wouldn't be bad for Chaud to make acquaintance of someone in her position…_

"Ooh, my turn!" Roll clapped her hands excitedly. "Where to start? Well, Maylu is really smart too; she's one of the top in the class. She loves the piano and just started writing her own music! And we don't NetBattle too much, but I'm sure Maylu wouldn't mind battling you and Chaud sometime."

"I'll be sure to pass that onto Chaud," Protoman said thoughtfully. "Roll, can I ask you something?"

"Sure! What is it?"

"If It's not a bother—Chaud isn't as… academically focused as he should be, and a tutor could be of benefit for him."

"You want me to see if Maylu can tutor him?" Protoman nodded. "Okay. I'll talk to Maylu about it later. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Plus," she moved closer to Protoman and latched herself onto one of his arms, grinning up at him, "I think it'd be pretty cool if our NetOps got along, too! Then we could all be friends, right?"

"I suppose… Yes, that would be presumably be the case then, if our NetOps were to bond." It was difficult for Protoman to get past how incredibly friendly Roll was. He'd met friendly Navis before, but none usually clung to him like this. He also usually didn't get dragged into group chats with other Navis, unless Chaud told him to. Then he'd talk—more like listen—for as long as he could stand before politely excusing himself to his PET. And he would have done that right then, had Roll not captured his arm in a vice grip. It'd be a bit more than rude if he just shoved her off and bolted.

"H-Hold on, guts! Why do you want to be friends with this pipsqueak, Roll?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "Maybe because he doesn't try crushing me?" Roll shot Gutsman a sharp look. He shrunk into himself and shuffled back a few feet.

"But Gutsman didn't mean it." Twiddling his thumbs nervously, Gutsman looked up at Roll with eyes as sad and pathetic as a kicked puppy. "Forgive me, guts?"

Roll rolled her eyes and sighed. "I'll think about it."

_*Ding, dong, ding, dong …*_

"Oh my, class is over already?" Glyde pouted. "And I didn't get to spend much time with Miss Roll! Oh well." He sighed before turning his attention back to the others. "I should return to my PET now that Miss Yai is on her break. We should do this again sometime!"

"Well, why don't we talk again at lunch?" Roll suggested. "We could have our NetOps eat together. It'll give them time to get to know each other before school's over! What do you guys think?"

"Brilliant idea Roll!" Glyde trilled. "I'll inform Miss Yai right away."

"And I'll tell Dex, guts guts!"

"What do you say, Protoman?" Roll asked and everyone turned their attention to him. Protoman gave them a one shouldered shrug and a nod.

"I've no doubts Chaud will be up to it."

"Great! Well guys, I should go back to Maylu. Bye!"

"Bye Roll, guts! I'm going back to Dex too, so see ya later."

"Yes, goodbye!"

After a few quick waves and smiles, Roll, Gutsman, Glyde, and Protoman all jacked out.

* * *

Megaman peered at Lan out of the corner of his PET before stepping out, into the center of the screen. "Psst, Master Lan?" he whispered. "I need to speak with you."

"Hold on," Lan hissed. He pretended to flip through his math textbook, instead glancing around the classroom to make sure no one was looking at him. When the coast was clear he whispered, "What is it?"

"It's about the recent oven fires. I did the research you asked me to and I've constructed a map with all of the accident sites marked." A folder opened behind Megaman, revealing a map of DenTech dominated by red dots. "In the past two weeks there has been nearly forty oven fires, and there's been twelve in the past four days alone, four of which were yesterday."

"That's all stuff I could find out watching the news. Have you found any leads?" Wanting to keep the appearance of it being just another school day, Lan pulled out two pencils and a mini, battery-run pencil sharpener. Megaman continued on, neither raising their voices as Lan sharpened his pencils.

"Maybe one, sir. Whoever's doing this is probably striking at random. However, there is one area that hasn't had any fires recently, whereas most other areas were hit in the past week. It's…" Megaman leaned in and whispered the location to Lan. He nodded.

"Nice work, Megaman."

Megaman beamed. "Thank you, sir!"

_*Ding, dong, ding, dong…*_

Ms. Mari clapped her hands. "Okay students, it's time for math!"

* * *

_At lunch_

Maylu, Yai, and Dex all sat around Chaud. Dex sat across from Chaud, having been kicked out of his seat by Yai, while Yai sat next to Chaud and Maylu next to Dex. Yai was eating her steak, freshly imported from Texas, while the others had their school lunches consisting of hotdogs, beans, a bowl of rice and a juice box.

"So it looks like our Navis really hit it off, huh?" Maylu said between mouthfuls of her rice. "Roll said she had a lot of fun."

"Yeah!" Chaud chirped in agreement. "Protoman doesn't usually go out, but even he said he liked talking to your guys' Navis."

"Oh yeah? Well Gutsman told me that your Navi tried starting something," Dex said smugly. "Doesn't seem like your Navi's a real good guy, if you ask me."

Yai shot Dex a glare, her forehead gleaming dangerously. "Good thing no one asked you. Anyways, Glyde told me that Gutsman tried crushing Roll and Protoman was just worried about her, which was why he was rude. You really should check your facts, Dex; otherwise you'll just look stupid."

Maylu covered her mouth to try and hide her snickering. "Funny, because Roll told _me_ that she was fine and didn't need everyone worrying over her."

"Just like Protoman," Chaud said. "He always worries too much about everything."

"Only because you never fail to give me a reason to worry, Chaud," Protoman replied from his PET, eliciting a laugh from everyone but his NetOp. Chaud stuck his tongue out at Protoman.

"I do not!"

Protoman smirked. "As you say, sir."

Chaud huffed. Maylu, still laughing, attempted giving Chaud a sympathetic look. "It's okay Chaud; we're laughing with you, not at you!"

"Not me; I'm laughing at him!" Dex shot Chaud a taunting grin. The older boy scowled.

"O-oh yeah? Well, you won't be laughing when Protoman and I crush you and your Navi!" For emphasis, Chaud shoved a finger in Dex's face and puffed out his chest. He was trying to look more intimidating. It didn't really work for him. "I bet you're not so tough."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Dex swatted Chaud's hand away. "Fine. You and me, after school! We'll see who'll be laughing then! I mean, unless Maylu changes her mind and goes to the movies with me." He leaned into Maylu, grinning lovesickishly down at her. "What do you say Maylu? Wanna go to the movies? I hear there's this really cool one playing."

Maylu rolled her eyes and pushed Dex away. "No thanks Dex. I already told you, I have a piano lesson after school." She turned to Chaud. "Too bad though; it'd be fun to watch you NetBattle. Oh well, maybe next time."

"Yeah! You can watch me kick their butts for a second time."

"Boys," Yai sighed. "Personally, I don't understand why you're so into NetBattles. It's one thing to enjoy them, but this is more like obsession."

"Yai does have a bit of a point there," Maylu said. "I know people want to be good at NetBattling, but sometimes I think people take it too far."

"Exactly my point, Maylu. Take Lan for example. He's just so—so ugh! I know people praise him for being such a great Netbattler, but that guy has some serious attitude problems."

"Oh Yai, don't be so mean. What if he hears you?"

"So what if he does? Let him! He's a big jerk anyways. You remember how he nearly deleted Gutsman the last time he and Dex fought. Guys like him shouldn't be allowed to NetBattle."

"Who's this Lan guy anyways?" Chaud asked. "He can't be as bad as you guys are saying he is, can he?"

"No, he's not," Maylu said firmly. "Lan's just…" She sighed. "He's the brunette in the front. I sit next to him—you know, the guy with the bandana on his arm? That's Lan."

"Oh, him? I ran into him this morning. Like, really ran into him. I sort of knocked us both to the ground. Hey, maybe I should ask him to eat with us!"

"Oh no Chaud, that's not a good idea. He'll just say no."

"And who wants to eat with that dude?" Dex asked. "I'll tell ya: No one!"

"You've got that right!" Yai added.

"Well, I'm going to at least try." Chaud got up and walked to the front row where Lan was quietly eating his lunch. Chaud tapped him on his shoulder and smiled. "Hey! Sorry about bumping into you earlier. I'm Chaud! You're Lan, right? Nice to meetcha."

Lan slowly turned to face Chaud, his face a mask of utter disinterest. The new kid had a stupid smile and practically radiated immaturity. Already Lan was thinking of different ways to tell him to bug off. "What do you want? I'm busy kid; leave me alone."

Chaud's smile faltered. "I wanted to see if you wanted to have lunch with me and some friends." He beamed brightly at the other boy, exclaiming a bit too eagerly, "We could, you know, talk and stuff!"

"Didn't I just say to leave me alone?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then leave me alone. I have way more important things to do than to eat lunch with someone like you."

Lan turned around and resumed eating his lunch. Chaud stood there, shocked, wondering what he did to deserve that. Sure, he might have accidentally landed on the guy and made them both eat dirt, but Chaud didn't think that was a good enough of a reason to be a jerk. Embarrassed, he slinked back to his seat and kept his head down. Maylu, Yai, and Dex watched him quietly, concern rising in the girls' eyes when Chaud's shoulders began to shake.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yai was about to lean into Chaud to see if he was okay when he slammed his fists on his desk.

"Here we go again," Protoman murmured.

"Stupid freaking jerk… I ought to show him… What did he mean someone like me?! Why I ought to—" Protoman cleared his throat and Chaud stopped, realizing that he'd been muttering. Again. "Maylu, I don't know why you defended that guy. What does he have to do that's so important, anyways?"

"It probably has something to do with the recent fires," Yai said. "He is an Official after all, and since World Three is probably involved… Well, you know. The Officials have to get involved."

"Recent fires? What're you talking about?"

The others gaped at Chaud while Protoman, unseen in his PET, put his head in his hands. "How do you _not_ know about the fires?" Maylu asked. "They've been all over the news for weeks now."

"Didn't you have your Navi look anything up about DenTech before you moved here?" Yai asked.

"Well…" Chaud scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "I might've, uh, not paid attention when Protoman started talking about here."

"Had you, you would already know about the oven fires," Protoman said.

"Heh, sorry Protoman."

"Well you do know about World Three, right?" Maylu asked. Chaud scowled and nodded quickly.

"Of course I do! I'm not _that_ stupid." A pause. "Wait…" The others started snickering. "I didn't mean it like—" And again, they were laughing at Chaud. "Guys, stop it! It's not that funny!" Of course, they didn't listen.

"Chaud, I think you walked into that one."

"Can it, Protoman." Chaud pushed his food tray back and immediately facedesked. "Wake me up when they stop laughing."

"As you say sir."

"And stop it with the sir."

"Yes sir."

Chaud facedesked again. He started to get the feeling that this was going to be a long school day.

_*Ding, dong, ding, dong…*_

"All right students, lunch time is over! Get back to your desks and get ready, as our next class will be science."

A long school day indeed.


	3. Get Out of the Kitchen!

**A/N:** To quickly answer questions:

Power switch: That's a no. Megaman and Protoman are still Megaman and Protoman. The only thing I really changed was their personalities, and I only changed them as far as Lan and Chaud could influence them. So Megaman will still be the one with style change and Soul Unison.

As for pairings, I'm a fan of both Maylu/Chaud and Maylu/Lan, and it could really go either way with Maylu. As for other pairings though, I can't say. I especially don't like Jasmine; I've only seen her in Team Protoman and that game basically made her my least favorite character.

And finally, for other characters with switched personalities—that's a no as well. Lan and Chaud are the two radical changes; excluding Megaman and kinda Chaud's father, everyone else's behaviors were only slightly altered.

* * *

"Megaman, pick anything up yet?" Lan asked, tapping the side of his PET impatiently. They'd been patrolling the Net ever since school ended a half hour ago. So far, they had nothing to show for it. Lan clenched his jaw. Were they wrong? Was this district not next on World Three's hit list? They couldn't be wrong; the fires were occurring more and more. Another day the perpetrator roamed free was another day they failed as Officials. Failure was not an option for Lan Hikari.

"No, nothing yet," came Megaman's delayed reply. Currently, he was scanning all activity in the district's net, which was a lot, but everything seemed normal. A few minutes later Megaman noticed some suspicious activity. "Hold on… My scanners are picking up on some heavy virus activity, sir, and it's moving fast. Should I investigate?"

"Yes. Report back on what you find, and if it's the perpetrator, delete them." Somewhere nearby, screams broke out. "And hurry!"

"Sir!"

Lan clipped his PET onto his belt and ran towards the screams. A few houses down, a teenage girl and two younger kids ran out of a house to the curb. Already, smoke spilled out of the open door and Lan could only assume the fire was spreading fast. From his PET Megaman's voice rang out.

"Viruses detected. Commencing deletion."

Lan skidded to a stop when he reached the teen and children. "What happened?"

"T-The oven... it—" the teen choked out. "Oh god, the house! The neighbors are going to kill me!"

Lan rolled his eyes. "Stay out here and call for emergency services. Where are the fire extinguishers located in the house?"

"We don't have one!" the youngest kid, a black-haired boy, said. "She threw it at the fire." He pointed at the teen, a wide, innocent smile on his face.

Lan swore and glared at the girl, and she looked at him sheepishly while talking to the emergency services. He pulled out his PET and tried connecting to Megaman. "Megaman! Have you identified the perpetrator yet?"

"Not yet, sir! These viruses don't give up, but not to worry sir. I've almost deleted them all. The fire should be—_gah!_" Static. The connection dropped.

* * *

In the oven comp, great cyber flames swarmed around Megaman. "When will these fires stop? Bub-shot!" He fired shot after shot after shot at the flames, but whoever was controlling them was persistent. The flames rose higher no matter how many times Megaman shot them down. He was about to switch tactics when a voice called out from the flames.

"I don't think so, you puny little Navi."

Megaman spun and fired a bub-shot behind him, neutralizing a heat shot before it burnt him to a crisp. "Who's there?" he yelled. Off to his right, a figure stood within the flames.

"I'll get you next time, little punk. Until then…"

Megaman fired off another quick bub-shot, but the flames dispersed and the mysterious figure was gone. Just then, Lan's connection righted itself.

"Megaman, status report! What happened?"

"I had a brief altercation with the perpetrator, sir," Megaman replied breathlessly, the heat having begun to affect him. "However, he retreated. I'm jacking out and I will give you full details once inside of my PET, if that is acceptable."

"It is. Now hurry; we've got to continue our patrol."

"Sir!"

_Megaman, logging out._

* * *

Somewhere unknown, an old man stared up at a large screen displaying a red-haired man with a goatee.

"Looks like your viruses were deleted by a puny blue Navi," the red-haired man said.

"Was it a do-gooder NetAgent who ruined my plans?" the old man questioned.

"Even better. Torchman recognized him as Megaman, that Hikari boy's Navi."

The old man tightened his grip on his cane; one specially made, with a skull for the grip. "Mr. Match, if that Hikari Navi gets in your way again…" The old man lowered his eyes to the floor for a long moment before looking back at Mr. Match. "…I want you to delete him."

"As you say, Mr. Wily."

The screen turned to black.

* * *

Like most days after school, Maylu was at her piano, busy at work. Today, she was tasked with going over one of the more complicated arrangements she knew. Her fingers danced across the keys with the ease and grace of a practiced pianist, three years of lessons having not gone to waste.

Downstairs, around the middle of the song, the oven turned on. Funny; Maylu was the only one home, and she was upstairs. Surely she didn't turn the oven on.

A minute later, flames spewed from the bottom of the oven and smoke began pouring out of the stove. The fire alarms went off; Maylu's piano made a cringe-worthy noise as she hit all the wrong keys.

"Maylu, what's wrong?" Roll asked, her PET lying on the end table next to Maylu's bed.

"It's the fire alarm," Maylu answered, slowly standing up. "Weird, I wonder what tripped it."

Grabbing her PET, Maylu headed downstairs to investigate.

* * *

After school, and after Chaud finished speaking with Ms. Mari about something or another, Dex showed Chaud to the study, where they could NetBattle. With school over there was no one around to stop them from using one of the many computers available for the students. Although the computers were supposed to be used for studying, they worked pretty well as a place to hold NetBattles.

"You ready to lose that winning streak of yours?" Dex taunted.

"Funny, but no." Chaud smirked. "You better not go easy on me."

"Like I'd ever. Gutsman!"

"Protoman!"

"_Jack-in, power up!"_

In their typical fashion, Dex and Chaud jacked in their Navis. Gutsman and Protoman appeared on different sides of the study room comp. Beneath their feet the words, _"Battle Start!"_ scrolled across the floor.

"Guts!" Gutsman bellowed before charging at Protoman. He reared his arm back for a punch aimed at Protoman's midsection and threw it with every ounce of power he had.

Protoman stepped to the right, dodging the blow.

Gutsman lurched forwards, stumbling and tripping as he struggled to regain balance.

Protoman sighed and extended his right hand.

"Cyber sword, battle chip in! Download!"

Protoman's right arm shifted into a sword and he slanted his body towards Gutsman. Smirking, Protoman lowered his stance to a crouch.

Quickly recovering from his blunder, Gutsman swung at Protoman again, this time attempting to flatten Protoman into the floor.

"Gutspunch, battle chip in. Download!"

With the aid of the battle chip, Gutsman's fist doubled in size mid-swing.

"Mole, battle chip in! Download!"

Protoman sunk into the ground before the punch could land.

Gutsman's fist collided with the floor. In the background, he could hear Dex yelling and Chaud laughing wildly. "H-Hey! Where'd he go, guts?"

Dex looked from his PET to Chaud, who smirked at him. "What's wrong Dex? Can't fight what you can't see? Come on, we're going easy on you!"

Dex growled. "Gutshammer, battle chip in, download! Flush him out, Gutsman!"

"Protoman! Use Sonic Boom and finish him!"

Gutsman's hands turned into hammers. Placing one on top of the other, he pounded the ground mercilessly. The entire area trembled, with the panels closest to Gutsman cracking.

Behind him, a hole appeared and Protoman leapt out of it. "Sonic Boom!" he yelled, slicing the air and sending a wave of sonic energy at Gutsman.

The attack landed and Gutsman was sent flying across the comp, skidding across the floor.

"Gutsman, no!"

"Finish him!"

Protoman zipped across the comp, weapon raised, ready to bring his sword down onto Gutsman's midsection, when—

"Somebody, help!"

Roll streamed into the comp near Protoman and the fallen Gutsman. Protoman lowered his sword and allowed it to revert back into his arm. "Roll? What are you doing here?"

"Maylu, she's in trouble! Here, look at the uplink." Roll raised her hand and a panel appeared. She clicked on a few things and a screen showing Maylu in a room filled with smoke appeared. "We were at home when everything just suddenly exploded into flames! She's stuck in there and the house is going to catch fire soon. Please, you have to help her!"

"Is this one of the oven fires Yai mentioned earlier?" Chaud whistled lowly. "Don't tell me a virus caused that."

"What else do you think it could be?" Dex snapped. "Gutsman, you need to stream over there and see what you can do! I'll head over to Maylu's house and make sure she's okay."

"Protoman, you go too. Here; I'll give you another Cyber sword to help." Chaud downloaded another battle chip before unplugging his PET from the computer. "Come on Dex, let's go!" he yelled and ran out of the study.

"Yeah!" Unplugging his PET, Dex ran after Chaud.

"Thank you," Roll said, "Thank you so much."

"No time to thank us now; hurry up and lead the way. I'll be right behind you."

"And don't forget about me, guts!"

Roll nodded. "Okay."

They streamed out of there, one after another.

Meanwhile, back at his apartment, Match put his feet up and relaxed. By now, Torchman was having a blast of a time setting another innocent person's house ablaze. However, since they already had a run-in with an Official Navi that day, Match decided it best to check in on his flaming friend. He clicked on his computer's monitor and surveyed the damage. So far so good—the cyberspace was burning and the viruses were milling about—but, in the corner of the screen, he noticed three Navis stream into the network. He didn't recognize them and none were the blue Hikari Navi from earlier. "Oi, more Navis?" Match sighed and pulled out his PET. "Torchman, take care of those Navis, will you?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Match," answered a low, gravelly voice.

Match folded his arms behind his head and turned his attention back to his screen. At the very least, now he would get to watch the deletion of a few pesky Navis.

* * *

Dex led the way to Maylu's house on his scooter with Chaud following behind on foot. "Are we almost there yet?" Chaud yelled between huffs. DenTech City was too hilly; he and Dex went downhill mostly, but it was difficult for Chaud to keep pace without losing control and barreling into a street sign or the occasional pedestrian. He pulled out his PET to check on Protoman and the others. "Protoman, what's going on?"

"We've just reached the oven comp," Protoman answered. "We're deleting as many viruses as we can, but the fires aren't burning out yet."

"We're almost there!" Dex called over his shoulder. "It's just a few blocks away."

"Finally," Chaud breathed. "Protoman, I'll send you something to help put out the fires as soon as I—Look out!"

"Huh?" Protoman looked to the side, catching sight of a large ball of fire heading straight towards him, Roll, and Gutsman. Roll and Gutsman yelped; Gutsman dove to the side while Protoman grabbed Roll and dashed to safety. Had the attack landed, they would have been logged out. "Are you okay?" he asked Roll, setting her down. She nodded.

"Yes, thank you."

"Gutsman?" Protoman called. He surveyed the fires for Gutsman's body; thankfully, it was easy to see the lug of a Navi when he raised his arm and gave them a thumbs up.

"I'm good, guts!"

Protoman momentarily allowed relief to wash over him before turning his attention to where the fireball came from. The cyber flames over there parted to reveal a Navi with a flame coming out of its head and two flamethrowers for arms. The Navi wore its symbol on its chest; a yellow flame against an orange background.

"Well lookie here," the Navi drawled, "More irritating Navis getting in my way."

"Who are you?!" Protoman yelled, taking a defensive step in front of Roll.

"I'm Torchman. Not that it matters to three Navis who are about to be deleted."

Gutsman growled. He stepped up to Torchman with his fists raised. "We'll see about that, guts."

* * *

Maylu stumbled through the kitchen, trying to use the counter to support all of her weight. The smoke stung her eyes and filled her lungs; she couldn't breathe. Her legs buckled before finally giving out beneath her. Sweat ran down her face and back, soaking her hair and clothes. "So… hot," she gasped before entering the throes of a coughing fit.

"Maylu!" Chaud yelled, practically kicking down the door before barging into her house—which was totally unnecessary, as the door was unlocked. Chaud ran in a crouch towards Maylu, grabbing her and dragging her outside, keeping low so they could avoid as much smoke as possible. "Maylu, are you all right?" he asked once they were outside. He held her tightly by the shoulders and she leaned against him, her body shaking as she continued to cough.

"Chaud? How did you—_cough_—find me?"

"Roll found us and we came to help," he answered. "Dex showed me the way, but I ran ahead of him. Hey, there he is now." He pointed and Maylu looked up in time to see Dex abandon his scooter and run towards them.

"Maylu!" Dex said between gasps. He doubled over as soon as he reached them. "M-Maylu, are you all right?" He wiped some sweat from his face and fought to stand straight. Dex didn't want to appear weak when it was Maylu who needed the attention.

She smiled weakly. "I'm better now." She coughed again and Chaud handed her over to Dex.

"You guys stay here," Chaud ordered, "I'm going to try and put out the fire."

"Are you crazy?" Dex asked, his eyes widening. "Just let Gutsman handle it! He'll put out the fires, just you wait and see!"

"If the oven burns up then its computer will too, and our NetNavis are stuck in there. I'm not going to let that happen."

Before they could further protest, Chaud ran through billowing smoke back into the house. He quickly shed his vest and used it to cover his nose and mouth before crouching low again. _If I was a fire extinguisher, where would I be?_ he thought, making his way into the kitchen. _Probably close to the oven._ He was right. The fire extinguisher was located in the kitchen not too far from the oven, but far enough that he didn't notice it when he pulled Maylu out. Chaud grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed the oven down. The flames shrunk momentarily, but quickly grew again. "Oh come on," he muttered.

* * *

Protoman summoned his shield to protect him and Roll from Torchman's attacks, but it only took a few blasts for his shield to begin disintegrating. Gutsman fared no better. One of Torchman's blasts knocked him down, thus allowing the evil Navi to focus on attacking Protoman and Roll, the latter of whom was trying to delete a few more viruses that suddenly emerged from behind.

With Torchman briefly forgetting about him, Gutsman climbed to his feet and charged at Torchman. "Guts punch!" he yelled, notifying Torchman of his attack. Immediately, Torchman blasted Gutsman with a double heat blast. Gutsman, having been charging at Torchman, ran straight into the attack.

_Gutsman, logging out._

"One down, two to go." Torchman cackled. "You should have left when you had the chance."

"Fat chance!" Chaud yelled, suddenly joining the conversation. "Sorry for the wait, Protoman. I was kind of, uh, busy. But I'm here now!" In the real world, Chaud had a goofy grin on his face, which looked even goofier since he had his vest held between his teeth, his hands preoccupied with holding his PET and two battle chips. Having been alerted to Protoman's growing distress via his PET, Chaud had immediately gone to his Navi's aid.

"You think your NetOp can save you?" Torchman sneered. "Take this; fire cannon!"

"Barrier, battle chip in, download!"

Protoman's shield disappeared as a barrier constructed itself around him. Torchman's flames didn't even come close to hitting him and Roll.

"Aqua sword, battle chip in, download!"

Protoman's right arm shifted from its usual purple Cyber sword to one blue in color, with a water tank at its base.

"You think a little water can douse my flame? Hah!" Torchman held his right arm out and it, too, shifted into a sword, but his was covered in flames.

"Like you'll even get close enough to hit me with that." A white mask with a black line down the middle appeared, covering the lower half of Protoman's face. "Roll, take cover. I'm going to douse the entire network to put out all of the fires, including this overgrown candle."

"Gotcha," Roll said and ran for cover.

Protoman lifted a few inches off the ground and began spinning, slowly at first, but soon picked up speed. Torchman ran at him, sword poised to strike, but Protoman had hit full speed already. He couldn't even be seen anymore; he was just a red blur of a cyclone.

"Aqua Sword, Sonic Boom!"

Powerful waves of water spat out of Protoman's self-made cyclone. He did just what he told Roll he'd do: Put out all of the fires, including Torchman.

A wave hit Torchman's shoulder at an angle, slicing off his arm with the sword. Another wave struck his leg at the knee, cutting that off too—and one more hit him right above his head, dousing his flame. Other waves doused the entire cyberspace, effectively putting out the remaining flames. It wasn't until Protoman heard _Torchman, logging out,_ that he stopped.

Roll peered out from behind her hiding spot, having narrowly avoided getting hit herself. All around, the cyber flames had been put out by Protoman's attack and Torchman was nowhere to be seen. "You did it!" She jumped for joy before running to Protoman and flinging her arms around his neck. "Protoman, you are awesome!"

"I… I just did as Chaud told me," Protoman mumbled, patting Roll on the head. "You should jack out. I'm sure you want to check on Maylu."

"Oh! Yeah, I need to see if she's all right." Roll quickly released Protoman and, with a quick wave, jacked out. Protoman immediately followed suit, returning to his PET. From his hiding space, Megaman sighed. He could hardly believe that a civilian managed to take down one of World Three's operatives. He believed even less that Lan had ordered him to remain hidden and not help. It had been so close, too; Gutsman could have been deleted. Had he not logged out, that would have been the case.

Megaman sighed. Things were going to get complicated if this happened again.

_Megaman, logging out._

* * *

"I'm back, sir," Megaman said, his voice strained and weary. "Protoman succeeded. Torchman is gone and the fires are out."

"Humph. Copy your memory data and convert it into video data."

"Sir."

Lan shoved his hands into his pockets and watched from across the street as Chaud ran out of Maylu's house, his face black from the smoke, and immediately checked on Maylu. Dex was holding her protectively; she probably inhaled a lot of smoke. That was fine. Lan could hear the ambulance and fire trucks making their way towards her house. They would be there soon and she would be taken care of. Slowly, he made his way over to them.

"Mind telling me what happened here?" Lan asked. Chaud and Dex swiveled their heads to look at Lan. Maylu didn't move. "It looks like there was another fire."

"Yeah, and where were you?" Dex shot back. "Last I checked, it's your job to keep this stuff from happening!"

"Dex, stop it," Maylu said. She struggled to pull away from Dex. In the end, Chaud took her by the hands and helped her to her feet. "And for your information Lan, yes, there was a fire, and Chaud and Protoman stopped it." She coughed again, but her breathing was considerably better than a few minutes ago. "Are you—" Lan held up a hand to stop her.

"You're suffering from smoke inhalation. Sit back down until the ambulance gets here." He strode over to Maylu and pushed Chaud away from her, forcing Maylu to sit in the grass. "And as for you two, Dex and _Chaud,_" He sneered when he said Chaud's name, "I, as an Official, must have you both questioned about what happened." Dex and Chaud went to say something, but Lan interrupted them with, "And as an Official, I'm giving you two no choice in the matter. Or I can have you two arrested for withholding important information and thereby protecting NetCriminals, your choice."

"I was going to say _fine_," Chaud said through gritted teeth. He could hear Protoman instructing him to breathe and remain calm, but Lan was far too aggravating for his own good. If it weren't for the ambulance and fire truck pulling up, Chaud might have pursued an argument with Lan.

The EMTs loaded Maylu into the ambulance and checked on Chaud, who they deemed to be healthy enough to be hauled into police car alongside Dex and taken away. Lan simply walked home. Unlike Dex and Chaud, he would not spend a good portion of the night at a police station, being hammered with question after question, as all he needed to do was write a report and email off the memory data he had Megaman convert.

* * *

Later that night, Megaman watched his NetOp prepare for bed. They'd sent off the reports shortly after returning home; however, they hadn't received confirmation that Chaud and Dex had been released from questioning. Megaman really hoped they were home, safe and sound.

He continued watching Lan for the next few minutes. Lan had climbed under the covers and seemed to be asleep, but Megaman knew better than to assume Lan fell asleep that quickly. "Sir? Are you awake?"

Lan cursed quietly; he really needed to clean up his language. "What is it, Megaman?"

"Why did you order me not to intervene? Gutsman could have been deleted, and Roll could have gotten hurt. Protoman too." He threw Protoman in like an afterthought; honestly, Megaman's main concern was Roll. "I could have helped. We could have captured Torchman and extracted his memory data. Why did you say no?"

Lan rolled his eyes. He rolled over onto his side so that he faced his PET, which was hooked up to the charger on Lan's desk. "Does it matter? I wanted to see what the new kid was made of. And considering you failed to defeat Torchman the first time you ran into him, I wasn't very confident in your abilities. You should fix that."

Lan's words were sharp as knives; Megaman flinched at each one. "I apologize for failing you sir, and for questioning your orders. I should know better."

"Good; you know your place." Lan smiled and rolled onto his other side. "Now don't wake me up again."

Megaman nodded and mouthed an unseen _'Good night.'_ He knew better than to press Lan any further; it wouldn't end well for either of them. Sighing, Megaman entered Sleep Mode with the hope that tomorrow would be better.


	4. Count the Preludes!

**A/N:** This is the longest chapter so far, with a word count of 7,657 before author's notes.

Quick questions:

Yes, Lan has a pretty extensive collection of battle chips. He'll probably show it off at some point.

I'm not sure how far into the series I'll get, but I will get past the World Three arc, and am seriously considering getting into the Gospel arc. I'd like to get up to the Axess season/Nebula arc, but I don't know if I'll get quite that far.

As for the other question, it'll get more obvious later on, but the answer is hinted at in this chapter. I'd say more but I type too much when I talk about pairings.

* * *

The first few days after the fire at Maylu's house were hectic. Dex's and Chaud's parents were not happy about picking their children up from the police station late at night, though Dex's mother was more understanding than Chaud's father. Maylu didn't attend school for the next few days, instead staying home and recovering. She returned the following week however and began tutoring Chaud. It was the least she could do after he saved her.

Fast forwarding to the present, almost two weeks had passed since the battle with Torchman. It was morning, and Protoman was busying himself in Chaud's desk comp. Unlike Roll and the others, he didn't feel the need to socialize that day. He needed to finish organizing a couple more folders anyways and Chaud had misplaced some of his notes, so it was up to Protoman to search for the copies. It was all going well until a blue Navi streamed into the network and Protoman was forced to close the folders.

"Hi!" the blue Navi said cheerily, waving as he trotted over. "You're Protoman, Chaud Blaze's NetNavi, right?"

"Yes, and you are… Megaman, correct?" Although it hadn't been much, Protoman did do some research on Lan after the incident with Torchman. He, like most people, knew a little about Lan already: He was the son of Dr. Hikari, probably the greatest scientist alive today, and he was an Official. However, that had been the extent of Protoman's knowledge of the Hikari boy until recently.

The blue Navi nodded to confirm his identity. "That's me, Megaman! I take it you remember my NetOp, Lan?" Megaman remained as cheery as ever despite the circumstances of Lan and Chaud's last meeting. Protoman scowled, unsure of what was more irritating: That Megaman was so cheery or that neither he nor Chaud had received an apology for being kept at a police station all night. Yes, Protoman was still miffed about that. It had been extremely uncalled for.

"As a matter of fact, I do. What is your business here?" His scowl deepened and Protoman crossed his arms. Even tapped his foot, wanting Megaman to feel every bit of discomfort possible.

"Well," Megaman cleared his throat uncomfortably, "In about three weeks, SciLab will hold a banquet for its workers. Lan's father, Dr. Hikari, originally invited Maylu and her parents; however, she decided to give her invitation to Chaud and his parents. If Chaud's interested in going, please let me know before the end of tomorrow so I can email you the full details."

"Considering how our NetOps don't get along, don't expect a yes." Megaman's face fell and Protoman wondered if Megaman really cared about this. "Still, I'll ask and give you Chaud's answer tomorrow."

Megaman clapped once and smiled brightly. He seemed genuinely happy Protoman hadn't immediately shot him down, much to the latter's confusion. "Goodie! Oh, and I know it's a little late, but welcome to DenTech. Well, see ya!"

_Megaman, logging out._

Protoman stared at the empty space where Megaman had stood just seconds ago. "Well," he muttered, "if that wasn't—" Strange? Formal? Downright ludicrous? "—abrupt." Oh, he was talking about Megaman logging out like that, though 'abrupt' still fit the situation quite nicely.

Shrugging, Protoman went back to searching for Chaud's notes. Really, it would do Chaud some good if he learned to be more careful. Just a little bit…

* * *

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Not at all. Roll confirmed it: Maylu wants you to take her invitation." A pause. "Chaud, go back. You missed your turn."

Chaud huffed and doubled back. Two weeks of living in DenTech and still he had trouble finding his way home.

"Well, I don't know. Dad was pretty mad when he had to pick me up from the police station. I don't think he'll want me to go."

"But you will be spending the evening with the famous Dr. Hikari. I'm sure that'll help convince him."

"Maybe."

"Chaud."

"Yeah?"

"You turned wrong."

Chaud sighed and turned back around. He really needed to learn his way home.

* * *

Lan went straight home after school. His first destination: The kitchen. "I can't believe that Mom made me invite the new kid to the banquet." He tossed his backpack onto the floor and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. When he closed the fridge he noticed there was a note on the door. "He'll just embarrass us in front of everyone," Lan continued. The note read: _Hi sweetie. Sorry, but I have some errands to run. I should be back at around 5. Love you!_ Sighing, he tossed the note in the trash and finished with; "At least Maylu and her family had some tact."

"But sir, Maylu's parents did cancel on us this year. Plus, you know how Mom and Maylu are. Mom wouldn't decline Maylu's request to give Chaud her invitation." Lan pulled his PET out of its holster. Megaman greeted his NetOp with another smile. Lan, in turn, frowned and took a sip of water. "Besides, it's only one night, and he did defeat Torchman after all. It makes sense that Maylu would feel gratitude towards him."

"Who cares?" Lan snapped and headed up to his room, grabbing his backpack on the way. Once there, he tossed his backpack on the floor and set the water bottle on his nightstand before falling back onto his bed, PET still in hand. "If the new kid and his parents come they better look like they didn't come from a homeless shelter." He sighed. "Whatever. Check the Official bulletin for new memos."

"Yes sir." Megaman vanished from the PET's screen. He returned moments later with a sullen look. "It appears that there's a new post."

"And?" Lan prodded. He closed his eyes, allowing his body to relax as he waited for his Navi to respond. "Read it, will you?"

"Yes sir. _Ahem._

'Attention NetPolice

As of three days ago, Tory Froid, age eleven, was declared missing. He is the son of Dr. Froid, a waterworks specialist. The details of his disappearance are vague at best. There are no eyewitnesses. All we know is that he disappeared around 1 and 2 PM Sunday afternoon after leaving his home to meet with his father. His appearance is as follows: Short brown hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion. He was last seen wearing a yellow and blue hoodie with a red undershirt, khaki shorts, and light blue sneakers. A picture is located below, taken shortly before his disappearance…

"…and it looks like he's a classmate of yours, Master Lan."

Lan's eyes flew open and he sat up, his muscles suddenly tense. "Really?" He raised his PET to his face, his eyes narrowed. "Show me the picture."

"Yes sir." Megaman pulled up the picture of Tory Froid. Just as the description said, Tory was a brown haired, brown-eyed, pale faced 5th grader staring blankly ahead. He wasn't smiling and Lan vaguely remembered him from joint events held by SciLab and the Waterworks. They had never spoken to each other, except for maybe a brief _'Hello.'_ Lan also remembered once being utterly convinced that the boy was cut off socially from the world.

"We should keep an eye out for him," Lan decided. "But for now, continue checking the Official board for anything that requires our immediate attention."

Megaman nodded and vanished again. Lan, having nothing more pressing to do right then, climbed out of bed and started on his homework. The sooner it was done, the sooner he wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

* * *

Chaud glanced at the clock. It read 7:34 PM. His father was late again.

Chaud shifted in his chair. He'd arrived home early today, having skipped out on exploring the town in favor of returning to the small, two bedroom apartment he shared with his father. Had it not been for Protoman, Chaud would have felt completely alone those past few hours.

He poked at his dinner for the first time since plating it. It was piled high with the only thing he knew how to cook—curry. Not that his lack of cooking skills bothered him; curry was probably Chaud's favorite food, though the preteen could eat almost anything. His father, on the other hand, wasn't as big on curry as his son, which was probably why he sometimes ate before coming home, leaving Chaud to feed himself.

After poking at his dinner some more, Chaud sighed and set his fork down. He turned his attention to his PET and flinched at Protoman's concerned look. Any longer and Protoman would go into mother hen mode, and that was something no one wanted to see.

"Dad will be home soon, right?" Chaud asked, rocking back and forth in his chair. "It's past 7 and he's normally home by now. So it can't be much longer, right?"

"It shouldn't be, but he might be caught in a meeting." Protoman smiled faintly and raised a hand to the monitor on his end. Chaud responded by tracing a finger over his PET's screen, lingering momentarily over Protoman's palm before pulling away. "You should eat, Chaud. Dinner started a half hour ago and I know you're hungry."

"W-well, that's kind of true, but… and yeah, it has been a while, so…" Chaud's eyes were glued to his plate now. His stomach growled and he could feel himself salivate.

Protoman nodded, trying not to laugh at his NetOp. "Yes, it has. Why don't you get something fresh? The curry's been sitting for a while and—"

Before Protoman could finish, Chaud began shoveling massive spoonfuls of curry into his mouth. To Chaud, there wasn't anything that could stack up against curry despite his questionable cooking skills. Protoman could only shake his head in amused wonder at his NetOp's stomach.

It wasn't until midway through his second serving Chaud heard the door open. As the kitchen/dining room and living room were connected to the entrance hall, Chaud only needed to lean back in his chair to see the door. Standing just inside the doorway, Shuuseki Blaze was in the process of removing his coat and shoes. He put his keys and wallet inside of a drawer in the end table by the door. Then he rubbed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and it wasn't until his hands dropped to his sides did he notice his son smiling at him, leaning so far back in his chair that he was on the verge of falling.

"Hi, Dad," Chaud said meekly, giving a little wave. "How was work?"

"Sit up straight," Shuuseki barked. He dragged himself into the kitchen and sat across from Chaud. A plate full of curry rested in front of him, right where it had been for the past hour.

"It's been sitting for a while," Chaud said apologetically. "I thought you'd be home earlier."

Shuuseki ignored him and stared at the PET on the table. "What is that doing out? I've told you a thousand times, you put that PET away during dinner."

"I'm sorry Master Blaze," Protoman said quickly, "I am to blame. I didn't tell Chaud to put the PET away when I should have, so please—"

"Oh, _be quiet._ I didn't ask for your input."

Protoman shut up and bowed. Chaud quickly took his PET and put it in the holster on his belt. "Sorry Dad," he mumbled. "I didn't know when you would get home and I got lonely waiting. But it's away now, okay?" He smiled brightly again. "So let's eat! I, uh, I can get you some more curry if you like."

"No, I doubt it will make a difference in taste."

"Ha-ha, you always say that."

Shuuseki rolled his eyes and began picking at his curry. It was too spicy and tasted god-awful, but he knew better than to expect any more from his son. Every now and then he would look up at Chaud and watch him shovel unhealthy amounts of trash into his system. How his son wasn't one of the morbidly obese, Shuuseki didn't know.

Chaud finished eating roughly ten minutes before Shuuseki, but didn't leave the table. It was a strict rule in their home (apartment) that Chaud could not leave the table before his father finished eating, the only exception being when Shuuseki sent Chaud to his room, usually without supper. And even when Shuuseki finished—and he did, shortly after his son—Chaud had to ask to be excused. Unfortunately, questions always came first.

"How was school?"

"Just fine," Chaud replied a little too hastily. "Maylu's started tutoring me, so I'm doing better."

"And your homework?"

"Well," Chaud laughed, "I'll have it done before tomorrow, promise!"

Shuuseki deadpanned. "So it isn't done."

"No, not yet." Chaud spoke carefully now. He knew how high his father placed education, so not finishing homework was on par with failure. And Shuuseki did not tolerate failure. "But I'll get it done before I go to bed, don't worry!"

"And tell me, what have you been doing since you got home? I know for a fact you have plenty of time between school ending and dinner to finish your homework, so why didn't you?"

"I… I just…" Chaud's shoulders drooped and his head lowered. Guilt washed over him at the thought of disappointing his father a second time. "I'm sorry, Dad. I was on the Net again and I forgot about my homework."

Shuuseki scoffed. "Of course you did." He pushed his chair back and stood up, scowling down at Chaud. "I am going to lie down. I expect you to finish these dishes quietly. You are to wake up early and finish your homework then. Am I clear?"

Chaud nodded.

"Good. Now, good night."

Shuuseki began walking away but was stopped when Chaud jumped up and grabbed his sleeve. "Wait!" Shuuseki looked down at Chaud expectantly; he didn't have the time to listen to his son's useless ramblings, so this had better be good. "SciLab is having a banquet in a couple days and Maylu was invited, but she gave her invitation to us instead. It's in a few weeks. Can we go?"

"I don't think so," he answered ruefully. "You don't need another excuse to stuff your face and skip out on homework."

"The invitation's coming from Dr. Hikari, though!"

Shuuseki's eyebrows shot up. _That got him,_ Chaud thought.

"You don't mean –_the_- Dr. Hikari?" Disbelief shone through Shuuseki's words like sun through clouds. Typical, just typical.

"Yup! Maylu's family is friends with Dr. Hikari, so we get her invitation now. Can we go? It'll be fun! And you could, uh, network or something."

Shuuseki hesitated. He thought of the pros of going—connections were everything, and if you were going to make connections then Dr. Hikari was the man to know. It had been a long while since they had a nice meal as well, and Shuuseki couldn't think of anything better than to spend the night with other adults. The cons, unfortunately, were equally numerous. Shuuseki started early and worked until late; he needed his sleep. And Chaud could very easily embarrass him, either by doing something stupid and maybe somewhat illegal, or by inhaling everything in sight. It was a tough call, but eventually he rolled his eyes in defeat. Chaud bounced—not jumped, not hopped, just bounced—for joy.

"Thanks Dad!" Chaud hugged his father and was quickly pushed away. At least he'd expected it and not tripped over his feet and bashed his skull on the table.

"We'll go, but you better behave while we're there. No making a fool of yourself, understood?"

Chaud nodded so vigorously Shuuseki thought he'd hear his son's neck snap. "Yup! I'm going to get the dishes now. Night Dad!" Before he could agitate his father any more than he already had, Chaud whirled around and promptly fell flat on his face. He could feel his father roll his eyes again—this time from disgust and not submission—but at least he hadn't bashed his skull open.

This time.

* * *

The very next day, Dex, Maylu, and Chaud were gathered around Yai's desk, listening to her newest addition to her life story. Well, Dex and Maylu were. Chaud was trying not to fall asleep.

"I swear, it was so weird! Glyde was running a few errands for me when this Navi approached us. He started asking about rare chips so I told him, 'Of course I know about rare chips. I only carry the best of the best!' And then he attacked us!" Yai threw her arms in the air, Maylu gasped and Dex said, "No way."

"Yes way," Yai continued. "Poor Glyde almost got deleted by that creep! He's still so shaken up he doesn't want to leave his PET."

"I can't blame him!" Maylu exclaimed. "He wasn't seriously hurt, was he?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed, but it still wasn't good." Yai grimaced. "My poor Glyde. Oh, it just eats me up inside that someone would do that to him!"

"How'd they get past your chips, anyways?" Dex asked. "I mean, you have super rare chips. Even Gutsman couldn't get past your Life Aura."

Chaud immediately perked up at the mention of Life Aura. "Life Aura?" he asked excitedly. "That chip is like, really, really rare! Man, I'd love to meet a Navi who could get past that. They'd have to be really strong. The strongest!" Dozens of scenarios danced through Chaud's mind about the kind of Navi who could break through Life Aura. Now that was the kind of Navi Chaud would like to battle.

"For Protoman's sake, I hope you never!" Glyde exclaimed. Everyone turned to the yellow PET on Yai's desk, which displayed a very frightened-looking Glyde. "That Navi was very powerful. If you ever were to encounter him, retreat would be your only option."

"He's right, you know." This time the voice came from Chaud's PET, but it wasn't Protoman who'd spoken. Chaud pulled his PET out and saw that Roll was clinging to Protoman's arm. Protoman, meanwhile, had probably the stiffest posture possible. "You two need to be careful or else something bad might happen."

"That's a given, but…" Maylu leaned over to look at Chaud's PET. "Why are you in Protoman's PET?"

"Oh, just visiting!"

Maylu rolled her eyes playfully. Chaud was confused and felt bad for Protoman. It was clear to him how uncomfortable his Navi was. Protoman never really did like when girls touched him, especially his hair. Now that was when things got downright hilarious.

"Anyways," Dex said, bringing them back to the original subject, "Did you get a good look at the guy?"

"Mhm. He was green with a big disco ball on his head, and he fought with these…" Yai gesticulated with her hands. "…bomb-dice, things."

"You don't remember anything else?" Maylu asked. Yai shook her head. "Well, we'll keep an eye out for the guy and report him if we see him, all right?"

"Yeah, thanks." Yai smiled. "I already filed an initial report, so hopefully they catch the guy soon."

"Mhm! Until then, we'll make sure nothing else happens to Glyde, promise."

The girls shared a quick grin and giggle and the situation felt much less serious.

_*Ding, dong, ding, dong…*_

"Man, the bell already? Talk to you guys at lunch." Chaud waved to Yai and the others and walked to his desk. As he sat down he noticed that there was an empty seat in the row in front of him where Lan should be. "Uh oh."

"Chaud!" Protoman hissed. "Are you paying attention?"

Chaud shook his head and looked down at the PET on his desk. "It's not that," he whispered. "Lan isn't here. How are we supposed to tell him we're going?"

Protoman sighed. "We can ask the others at lunch. Meanwhile, pay attention!"

Rolling his eyes, Chaud turned his attention back to Ms. Mari.

"And now for the next announcement: Today we have a special guest teacher here to talk to you kids about virus busting and how to protect yourselves on the Net. Speaking of him…" Ms. Mari gulped and nervously glanced around the classroom. "I'm not quite sure where he is."

Dex snickered. He leaned over to Chaud and whispered, "I wonder if that means no class."

"If only." Chaud sighed and put his head in his hands. God, he was so tired. "How much longer do I have to stay here?"

"Until school ends. Now, sit up," Protoman said, raising his voice a little. Any louder and Ms. Mari would hear him.

Annoyed by Protoman chiding him, Chaud raised his hand. "Ms. Mari, can I be excused?"

Ms. Mari pressed her palms flat against her desk and leaned forwards. "What for, Chaud? If you need to go to the restroom then you should have gone before class." The students laughed and Chaud's face flushed red.

"I'm not feeling too well," he lied. "Now can I be excused?"

"No, you're just trying to get out of class. Now, be quiet while I try to find Mr. Higsby. I'll be right back class, so you better behave."

"Yes Ms. Mari," everyone excluding Chaud chorused.

"Good!" Ms. Mari smiled at them before leaving. Almost immediately, the students gathered around their friends and began chatting amongst themselves.

"Do the teachers really believe that the class will behave?" Protoman asked. Chaud responded by groaning and laying his head on the desk.

"I can't believe Dad made me get up the same time he did. It's just homework; not that important." He moaned into his desk; his eyelids began to grow heavy and Chaud felt the familiar temptation to close them and leave them that way.

"Oh no you don't," Protoman muttered. "Chaud, get up. You can sleep after your tutoring session with Maylu. Ms. Mari will be back any moment now and if she catches you asleep then you'll have detention. And you can't sleep through that either. Are you even listening to me?" A snore was Chaud's only response. "Oh, great."

Dex, seeing the perfect opportunity, stuck a finger in his mouth. Once it was nice and slimy, he pulled his finger out and leaned towards Chaud. Protoman saw this and knew what was coming, so he tried one last time to wake Chaud. It didn't work, but Dex giving him a "wet willy" did.

Chaud instinctively jerked away at the familiar sensation and yelped. He fell hard on his side onto the floor and immediately rubbed his ear, having the full intention of taking it off. Anything would have been better than a wet willy—Dex could have given him a wedgie for all he cared! Though, in hindsight, that would have been just as bad. Giving Dex a glare, Chaud climbed back into his seat.

"You're a jerk."

"I know."

Chaud rubbed his ear again and shifted his glare to Protoman. The Navi held up his hand. "I tried waking you, so don't start." Chaud huffed.

The doors at the front of the classroom opened with a soft _whirr_. Everyone quieted down and rushed to their seats in fear of incurring Ms. Mari's wrath. However, it was not Ms. Mari who walked through the doors, but a lanky, wild-haired man. He wore glasses and a tie with a peculiar pin—probably custom made, as upon closer inspection, one would notice its design is reminiscent of a Navi symbol. Whispers circulated around the room with everyone wondering who it was standing before them, behind Ms. Mari's desk.

"Hello!" he greeted them. "I'm Mr. Higsby, and I'm here to talk to you all about virus busting and ways to protect yourself on the Net, huh."

Yai's hand shot up. "Where's Ms. Mari? Assuming you're actually the guest teacher and not some creep, she just went looking for you."

"Oh, you mean your teacher?" An easy, unnerving smile slid onto his face. "Don't worry about Ms. Mari, huh. She's tied up with something right now, but you'll see her soon enough. For now, why don't you watch this video created by our very own World Three?"

Shocked cries rang throughout the classroom. Higsby turned and ran out of the room before anyone could stop him. A few students, Dex and Chaud included, tried chasing after him, but the doors were sealed shut. "We're locked in! That guy locked us in!" someone screamed.

The students' computers flickered to life and white noise filled the room with deafening volume. Even the school's intercom system screamed; the students collectively flinched and covered their ears. Shortly after, the white noise faded and was replaced by Wily's voice. Students could see his face on their desk monitors, cheerily reciting his message for them.

"Greetings students of Electopia; I am Mr. Wily! It is time you stopped listening to the lies society feeds you and time you joined the World Three. Rebel against all of Net society, my young ones! DELETE! DELETE! DELEEEEEEETE!"

Maylu vainly searched for a button to turn off the announcement. The power switch on her desk refused to work and the reset button was covered by a screwed on plate, though even that wasn't guaranteed to work. "It's a brainwashing program!" she shrieked. The announcement began to repeat itself; someone had set it on loop.

"Are you kidding me?!" Chaud rushed to the window and tried prying one open. Other students followed his lead, pushing and pulling on the windows and each other to no avail. "Argh!" Chaud pressed his forehead against the cool glass and squeezed his eyes shut. They were on the fourth floor; even if they opened the window, it wasn't like they could jump for it. "I'm not getting brainwashed by stinkin' World Three… What to do, what to do?"

Yai pushed her way to Chaud and tugged on his arm. "Hey Chaud, there's a jack-in port in the blackboard that connects to the school's network. You can probably unlock the doors from there."

"Really?" He stepped back from the glass and went to grab his PET from its holster, but Yai held it out to him. "How did you—?"

"You left me on your desk," Protoman said, and if Chaud wasn't mistaken, was there a hint of pout in there?

"Sorry," Chaud said sheepishly. He took his PET and quickly thanked Yai before jogging over to the blackboard. By now, word had spread and practically everyone was staring at him, except for the few who were trying to either bust their way out of the classroom or shut down their desk computers. Chaud pulled out his jack-in cord.

"Jack-in, Protoman! Power up!"

Just as Chaud went to connect his PET, Dex shoved him out of the way and plugged in his own Navi. People gasped from shock; Chaud stumbled and barely avoided landing on his butt.

"Sorry Chaud, but leave this to Gutsman! He'll have us out of here in no time."

"Are you freakin' kidding me?! There's more than one jack-in port, you jerk!"

"Yeah, so?"

"Are you two seriously fighting right now?" Maylu asked. "Who cares who unlocks the doors? Just let Dex do it so we can get out of here!" Her voice cracked slightly at the end, her panic clear. Chaud looked from Maylu to Yai to the rest of the students' faces. They were terrified and so was he. Mad as he was about being shoved, Maylu had a point. It really didn't matter who unlocked the doors; just that they were unlocked. Defeated, he stepped away from the blackboard, his head pounding.

"Better hurry, Dex," he said weakly. Was it just him, or was the announcement getting louder?

Dex nodded and turned to his PET. "C'mon Gutsman, let's crack that lock!"

"Guts," Gutsman replied. He'd safely streamed into the school's cyberspace without problem, and was looking around for the classroom's lock system. Moments later, he found it. After approaching with little caution, Gutsman immediately interfaced with the system and deactivated the locks. "Done, Dex!"

"Aw yeah!" Dex fist pumped the air. "We're free! Quick, someone try the door!"

Several students rushed to the door. Sure enough, it opened without resistance. "Dex did it!" they cried. At two and three at a time, everyone clamored out of the room except for Dex, who stayed behind to operate Gutsman. Maylu and Yai stood directly outside of their classroom; Chaud went further down to find ways to get downstairs. Meanwhile, the school's intercom system kept playing World Three's re-education program and everyone else remained trapped. They could hear students, teachers even, screaming for help.

Maylu clutched her head. Like everyone else, the re-education program gave her a mind splitting headache. It was getting harder and harder to focus, so she slid down the wall to the floor and set her PET on her lap. Roll looked up at Maylu with unbridled rage in her eyes. "Maylu," she said forcefully, "I want you to jack me in." Maylu was taken aback, but Roll didn't give her any opportunity to cut in. "I know what you're going to say, but Dex is staying back there trying to stop this, isn't he? I don't care if he wants help or not, but I'm not going to stand by while World Three tries to turn you into one of their cronies."

"Are you sure?" She squeezed her PET; she didn't want Roll away from her, but Roll had a point. They couldn't stand by and do nothing.

"Of course I'm sure! Now, go and tell that butthead Dex that we're helping."

They shared a smile and Maylu got back onto her feet. A warm feeling welled up in her chest as she walked into the classroom next to Dex and plugged Roll in. When Yai and Dex asked her what she was doing, she replied, "The more people who help the sooner we get out, right? I'm helping."

"Maylu…" Yai looked on helplessly as her friends operated their Navis. With Glyde still recovering, she knew she couldn't help; she couldn't put him at risk. But she had to do _something_. Everyone else was searching for a way out—why wasn't she?

_I won't be useless,_ she thought. "I'm going to see what I can do to help the others, you guys be careful now, ya hear?"

"We'll be fine!" Dex assured her. Yai nodded and ran out of the room. She passed by students trying to help free those still trapped. Since there wasn't much she could help with that, Yai moved on to the stairwell. It was very likely the door leading to the stairs was locked as well, but she wanted to find Chaud. Maybe he had some ideas.

Once there, she saw something she didn't expect: Two kids trying to beat each other down with Chaud in the middle.

The two students were kicking and punching and spitting at each other, and subsequently Chaud, and screaming about… earplugs? Yai struggled to hear them past the announcement and the ringing in her ears.

"Give them back, give them back!" screamed the larger, bald headed student Yai remembered as Kenji. He tried kicking the other student, Tommy if Yai was correct, but hit the side of Chaud's knee instead. His leg buckled and Chaud grabbed at Kenji's shirt for balance.

Tommy scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out. He had one hand behind his back, presumably holding the earplugs.

"Why should I? I bought them; they're mine!"

Tommy shoved Chaud's head down with his free hand and spat in Kenji's face. Kenji retaliated by swinging at Tommy. He missed and toppled forward onto Chaud, and since Chaud had been relying on Kenji for balance, they crashed onto the floor. Tommy laughed and ran off; Kenji yelled and ran after him, leaving Chaud sprawled on the ground.

"Chaud!" Yai hurried over to him as he sat up, clutching his knee. "Are you okay? Why were they fighting?"

"I don't know, but I'm so going to kick their butts when this is over!" Chaud groaned and rubbed his knee. "Owww…" He stood, careful to put less weight on his hurt knee. Yai watched him carefully, too afraid to touch him; he'd probably just fall on her anyways.

"We need to get out of here," she said. "Maylu and Dex are trying to stop the announcement, but…" Yai sucked in a shuddering breath. All she could hear was Mr. Wily telling them to delete, delete, delete—she tried to shrug it off but it wasn't so easy. The words stuck in her head like glue and she feared they'd never go away. "I'm scared. It's taking them too long. What if we never get out of here?" Her voice cracked at the end and she had to wipe a few tears from her eyes. "I hate to say it, but I wish that big dummy Lan was here. He'd know what to do."

"Well, he's not, so we have to do this for ourselves." Chaud hesitated before ruffling Yai's hair and giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He, too, had Wily's words stuck in his head, but he couldn't show it. His father always said to compartmentalize useless emotion, whatever that meant. "C'mon, smile now! If we give up now then World Three will just get their way again."

Yai's PET beeped as Glyde agreed with Chaud. "He's right Miss Yai. This is not over yet, and we will prevail!"

Yai's lips quirked into a small smile, which grew just a bit when she looked up at Chaud beaming down at her. "You're right… Let's get back to Dex and Maylu and see what the holdup is. They should have stopped the announcement by now."

"That's the spirit!" Chaud whacked Yai on the shoulder, oblivious to how he nearly knocked her over and effectively ruined the moment. "C'mon, _legs_ go." Protoman groaned painfully hearing his NetOp crack such an awful pun. He, of course, found it hilarious.

They headed back to classroom 5-A with haste. If the announcement was starting to stick in their heads then it wouldn't be long until it sunk in permanently. They only hoped that Maylu and Dex would have the situation under control by the time they got there.

* * *

Roll and Gutsman had travelled deep within the school's network. They had run into several security measures—passwords that took a little too long for Roll to decode—but finally they'd arrived at the main computer. However, they weren't alone. A strange looking green Navi with a rather odd headpiece stood between them and the intercom control system. His face betrayed no emotion, not that Roll thought it could; with two big circles for eyes and a small rectangle for a mouth, his design wasn't as facially expressive as most Navis'.

"Greetings," he said, his headpiece lighting up erratically, "I am Numberman. And who might you be?"

"Let me guess, you're the one causing this mess?" Roll asked rhetorically. She puffed out her cheeks and put her fists up. "You've got a lot of nerve you know! Attacking a school—how low is that?!"

"Roll," Maylu interrupted, "I know you guys like your banter, but we don't have all day over here. Hurry and fix the system!"

"That will not happen," Numberman stated almost automatically. "The odds of you stopping the announcement are below ten percent. The numbers are not in your favor."

"We'll see about that," Dex scoffed. "Gutsman, squash 'im!"

"Guts!"

Gutsman ran at Numberman and quickly closed the distance between them. He swung at Numberman, aiming for his head, but the other Navi was more agile than he looked. Numberman ducked and leapt backwards, throwing something on the ground in the process. Imagine Gutsman's surprise when he noticed a die between his feet displaying the number 4. Now imagine his surprise when it exploded.

His armor cracked all over. The explosion was so powerful—so loud—that his hearing program malfunctioned for 5.0079 seconds and all he could hear was this loud ringing noise that drowned out everything, including Roll's screams. Gutsman didn't know how, but he ended up on his back with Roll leaning over him.

"Gutsman, are you okay? Gutsman, _ohmigosh_, please, say something!"

_Thunkthunkthunkthunkthunk._

Three more dice landed behind Roll, to her left. This time they read 2, 5, and 3.

"R-Roll, look out!"

"Huh?"

She turned and looked behind her, but before she could even scream, fully expecting her deletion, the dice were replaced with two blue feet. The dice exploded a little ways off, just barely far away enough for them not to get injured. _But blue? No, it couldn't be…_

It was. Her and Gutsman's savior was none other than Megaman.

"But _how_?"

"How what, Roll?" Megaman asked, looking at her with the utmost confusion. "Are you all right? Better yet, is Gutsman all right?" He stepped past Roll and gently nudged Gutsman with his foot. The damaged Navi glared at Megaman. Boy, did Gutsman want to rearrange Megaman's face right then.

"I'm fine, guts," Gutsman spat. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees, about to stand up with a bit of Roll's help—

_Thunkthunkthunkthunkthunk._

Snake eyes.

No dodging now.

* * *

It didn't matter that Wily's voice continued to ring out overhead. After that third explosion went off, Maylu and Dex only heard the words, _Gutsman, data deleted._

It would, of course, be the perfect time for Chaud and Yai to come running in.

"Guys, what's the holdup?" Chaud asked. "If you guys aren't done yet, I'm going to jack-in Protoman and we'll—" He stopped. Something was wrong; neither Maylu nor Dex were looking at them, and Dex was hunched over, oddly quiet. "Uh, guys? Something wrong?"

Dex didn't speak. Maylu put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away. "It's nothing," he deadpanned. "I just… It's nothing."

"Dex—"

"I said it's nothing, Maylu!"

Maylu flinched when he snapped at her. Normally, Yai would have been all over berating Dex for being so rude, but when he sulked away holding his PET to his chest, she got the hint. Chaud, however, was still oblivious.

"What's his problem? I thought you guys were fixing this, not—"

"Gutsman is deleted," Maylu told him. "And I—I didn't check on Roll yet!" Frantically, she turned to her PET. Static greeted her. "Roll, Roll! Come in Roll! Are you all right? Roll!"

"Chaud—"

"Already on it, Protoman." Chaud whipped out his jack-in cord and stepped up to the blackboard. "Jack-in, power up!"

* * *

_Gutsman, data deleted._

"No!" Roll shrieked. She fought against Megaman, trying to rush over to the crater where Gutsman had once been. Megaman however held tight; he had saved her from the third explosion, but hadn't been able to grab Gutsman. It was an unfortunate casualty, but one that couldn't be helped.

"Roll, I'm sure Dex has backup data for Gutsman. You need to stop fighting and jack out now, be—"

"No!" she shrieked again. "I'm not leaving, not after what he did to Gutsman…" Her body trembled, not with sorrow, but anger. Roll scanned the area for Numberman and saw him holding another pair of dice. "You… You monster! I swear, when I get my hands on you—"

Numberman tossed the dice. "You will do nothing," he said. Megaman leapt away from the dice before he even saw what their numbers were, but judging by the large explosion, Megaman guessed they were good numbers. "You are much stronger than your deleted friend. However, the numbers are still not in your favor!"

Numberman formed more dice and threw them at Megaman and Roll again and again, and again and again Megaman kept dodging. He would attack, but with Roll so angry and determined to avenge Gutsman it would have been too dangerous to let her go. Megaman refused to let anything happen to her.

"Let me go Megaman! We can fight him together!" she yelled, only dimly aware that Maylu was calling for her.

"I can't allow that Roll. I need you to jack out before you get hurt."

"Not going to happen!"

_Boom._ Another explosion. This was getting ridiculous; he couldn't dodge forever. Megaman had no other choice but to throw Roll to the side after dodging the next explosion. He then made a break for Numberman, simultaneously slotting in his Super Vulcan battle chip. His right arm shifted into a golden Vulcan and he took aim; Numberman reared his arm back to throw even more dice at Megaman. Megaman, however, was faster.

Ten shots pierced Numberman in all the right places. His hands were reduced to nothing and his torso, too, was riddled with holes. Rogue bits of data dissipated into the cyberspace as his wounds caused his torso and his stubs to de-razz. Three more shots and one leg was blown off, the other severely handicapped.

"Bingo." Megaman smiled triumphantly and approached Numberman, his weapon aimed at the defeated Navi's symbol. "You're under arrest. Don't try to resist."

"No, I—the numbers were on my side. I had a seventy percent chance of winning! How could this have happened?"

Megaman snorted, stepping past Numberman and interfacing with the school's system. In the physical world, the World Three's announcement stopped and all of the doors unlocked. A bit more tweaking and Megaman relayed this announcement to the entire school staff and student body:

"Attention students and teachers, attention students and teachers. Please return to your classrooms immediately. The police will be there shortly to evacuate and account for everyone. I repeat, return to your classrooms and await the police. The situation has been handled. Thank you."

Smiling, Megaman turned and faced Roll. She walked towards him, still in utter disbelief that he'd thrown her. Megaman's heart sank at the thought of hurting her, but this was no time for hurt feelings. "You should jack out," he said softly. "The situation's been handled; you don't need to be here."

Silently, she shook her head. "No." Her voice was low and had an edge to it Megaman had never heard before. "He deleted Gutsman. He should _pay._"

"W-what do you mean by 'pay'?" Numberman tried scooting away from Roll, but the second he moved Megaman was on him, his Vulcan aimed at Numberman's Navi symbol again.

"One more move and I'll shoot," Megaman said and meant it. Roll momentarily flinched at Megaman's hostility—she wasn't used to seeing him like that—before her anger returned. Whether Dex had restoration data or not, Roll wasn't going to let Numberman go until she got her hands on him.

Her right arm shifted into a buster and she fired a clean shot at Numberman. Or, it would have been a clean shot, had her arm not been forced above her head at the very last second. Dumbfounded, she looked from Numberman to Megaman—the former was trembling, the latter as bewildered as her—and then looked to her right. Protoman had a firm grip on her arm and she finally registered Maylu calling out for her.

"Roll, what were you doing?!" Maylu cried. "I was trying to talk to you and you kept ignoring me—and you tried to—"

Maylu wasn't able to finish, so Protoman did.

"You tried to delete him." Roll yanked her arm away from Protoman, who let it go without a fight. "Megaman," he said, nodding towards the blue Navi. Megaman nodded back before turning his attention to Numberman again.

"Hey, if Megaman's here, shouldn't Lan be here too?" Chaud asked. Megaman went to answer, but was cut off when a screen appeared, showing a rather smug-looking Lan.

"Well, if it isn't _you_ again," he sneered. Chaud growled and Lan scoffed. "Megaman, I see you've apprehended the criminal."

"Yes sir!"

"Good. As soon as the others arrive, jack out. They'll take care of him. Meanwhile," Lan turned to Chaud and Maylu, "I order you two to log your Navis out. You'll just get in the way when the rest of the adults get here."

"Why you—"

"Okay."

Chaud turned to Maylu with a bewildered look. "What? You're just going to let him boss us around? C'mon!"

"He's an Official, Chaud; we should listen to him. He's right anyways—" Maylu unplugged her PET from the blackboard, jacking out Roll. "—we should log our Navis out. Roll and Protoman aren't needed there anymore."

"But…"

"Don't argue with her Chaud," Protoman said. "You'll never win."

Chaud sighed. "Fiiiine." He went to unplug his PET, but stopped short. "Oh, Protoman, tell Megaman we're going to the banquet thing!"

"…You just did."

"Oh."

Megaman covered his mouth to hide his chuckle; Lan just rolled his eyes.

"Will you go already? We don't need you here, so _scram._"

"I'll email you later," Megaman told Protoman.

"Thanks."

_Protoman, logging out._

* * *

Not but a few yards away from the school, a green haired woman stood hidden amongst trees, watching a replay of footage on her PET.

_Gutsman, data deleted._

It sickened her to helplessly watch a replay of an innocent deleted, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now. Besides, the boy was smarter than he looked. She trusted he had Navi restoration data.

"Woodman, store the video file, will you?"

"Right away!"

She smiled, the voice of her Navi immediately cheering her up. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," her Navi, who lived up to his name in appearance, replied. She smiled at him and put her PET in the bag hanging off her shoulder. Later she knew she'd have to file for the release of Higsby; he'd been tricked into joining and threatened when he tried leaving. Unlike the other members of World Three, Higsby would not receive anything much more severe than a slap on the wrist and an obligation to assist in the ongoing investigation of World Three. She would be sure of that.


	5. What if Not the Best?

**A/N:** Hey, so thanks for the reviews everyone! I can't believe how much feedback I've gotten for this. Thanks for the support!

This is a bit of an in-between chapter, just focusing on Lan and Megaman and a bit of Maylu and Roll, and my Author's Note got so long that I'll answer reviews at the bottom of the chapter.

* * *

It was noon, Saturday. Little kids scurried about the park, the parents of the younger ones seated not far from their little offspring. Maylu watched with a fond smile as a little boy and girl ran over to the iconic red dome of ACDC Park. She remembered a time, way back when, when that little boy and girl had been her and Lan. It had been this very park where they spent countless hours having fun and building their friendship. And it had been this very park where Maylu first developed her crush on Lan.

_Five year old Maylu ran, shrieking with laughter as Lan chased after her. "I'm gonna get you!" he promised._

"_Never!"_

Maylu couldn't remember what triggered it. By the time she developed her crush, Lan had already began his descent from the happy-go-lucky—albeit braggy—kid she met to the snob he is today. There had just been something in the way he smiled back then that Maylu could never forget.

_Maylu and Lan were hunched over, panting heavily from their hour long game of tag. They were exhausted and sticky from sweat. When Maylu looked over at Lan, he was grinning and laughing._

"_What's so funny?" she asked._

"_Nothing! I just had fun, though I would have had more fun had we Navis to play with."_

_He smiled even wider, showing off his lack of a front tooth and making Maylu's stomach flutter for the very first time._

"You guys were children, Maylu. Don't you think it's about time to let go?"

Maylu snapped out of her nostalgia and scowled at the PET on her lap. "Since when did you get mind-reading powers?"

"Since you became so easy to read." Roll smiled cheekily and Maylu couldn't help but to roll her eyes. "But really Maylu, I'm worried about you. It isn't healthy to pine after someone like Lan. He's not good for you."

"Who says I'm pining after him?" Maylu asked defensively. "Okay, so I had a crush on Lan before, but I was _five_. I think I've grown past him by now."

Roll sighed and put a hand to her cheek. "You say that, but…" She shrugged. "…I don't believe you. I can see it, Maylu, and I really don't get it. When it comes to Lan, you're just too inconsistent! One moment you're mad and talking bad about him, but then the next moment you're defending him. And then you do something like this—setting up a meeting with Lan at your childhood hangout. It's confusing."

"And what about you and Megaman? It's not like you're any different with him!"

Roll reared back in shock, her eyes flying wide open. Maylu, too, recoiled; she hadn't meant to say that. "_Ohmigosh,_ Roll, I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"No," Roll interrupted her, "it's okay. I mean… I do it too."

"But it still wasn't right of me to say that. I'm so sorry Roll."

"Hey, didn't I just say that it's okay?" She smiled cheerfully and flashed Maylu a double thumbs up. "I'm sorry for calling you out about Lan, too. You know I'm just worried about you, right? I don't want you to get hurt."

Maylu relaxed a bit, but she still felt tense from her mistake. How could she be so stupid?

"I know, but I'm not going to. Besides, even if I liked Lan, I doubt he'd care. He's so caught up with being the best that I bet he doesn't even think about girls." She smiled happily at Roll, but her Navi could see the wistfulness in her NetOp's eyes. "Anyways, what about you and Protoman? Do you _like_ him?" She said it so teasingly, dragging out the word 'like' ever so slightly and immediately making Roll blush.

"W-what makes you think I like Protoman?" she asked with an uneasy laugh.

"Oh, I don't know; maybe because you keep finding any and every excuse to latch onto his arm?" Maylu smiled evilly and giggled when Roll's face turned an even darker red. "I knew it!"

Now it was Roll's turn to whine. "Mayluuuuuuu, don't _say_ that!"

"Why not? I think you two look cute together."

"Just don't, please!"

Maylu reared her head back, her shoulders shaking from mirth. It hurt to laugh so hard, but it was the nice kind of hurt. It was the hurt that made her laugh even more because of how stupidly it hurt, and that made the hurt worse. It was a never-ending cycle of laughter and pain. Or at least it had the potential to be, but thankfully it ended not too long after starting, leaving Maylu red-faced and short of breath, but smiling.

"Gee, look who went overboard with the blush today."

And just like that, her smile was gone, replaced by her trademark frown reserved for Lan's snarky comments. She watched him close the distance between them and sit next to her on the bench, his arms crossed, eyes locked on her. His lips were in the same annoying straight line they always were. Maylu felt the incredible urge to grab him by the cheeks and pull his face until his mouth formed a smile, but that would be counterproductive as it would only make him mad. "Hi, Lan," she said flatly. "Thanks for meeting me."

"What do you want, Sakurai?"

"First off, it's Maylu. We've known each other long enough to not use last names, _Hikari._" He snorted at her childishness. She ignored him and went on. "Secondly, I wanted to talk to you. And…" If only he hadn't turned on his attitude this would have been easier for Maylu, but she reached over and squeezed his knee. His eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing. "…And, I wanted to thank you for Thursday. You saved us, and that goes to you too, Megaman."

Megaman's PET beeped. "Thank you, Maylu!"

Maylu grinned. "You're welcome, and Megaman, you should talk to Roll. I know she misses you."

"Yeah!" Roll chimed. "Come on over, will you?"

"Go ahead Megaman," Lan said without waiting for his Navi to agree. Megaman thanked him and streamed over into Roll's PET, and as he did that Lan pushed Maylu's hand off of his knee. Maylu quickly put her hand back on her lap, her fingers idly tracing along the edges of her PET.

"You remember this place, right?" Maylu asked quietly. "We used to come here all of the time." Lan looked at her, his expression blank, and she wasn't sure if that was his way of telling her he knew or not. "You know, I miss those days sometimes. At least they were safer, considering—"

"It wasn't safer back then."

"Huh?"

"It wasn't safer," he repeated slowly, as if she was stupid. "We were just too young to see the dangers. Now that we're older, we know the world isn't safe."

"But it can be," Maylu countered. "Isn't that what your father's goal is, to make the world a safer place?"

"Dad's goal is for Navis and humans to co-exist peacefully," he corrected. "But, in theory, that would make the world safer—_if_ it ever happened."

She looked at him incredulously. "And you don't think it will?"

Lan gave a one shouldered shrug and turned his gaze upwards, to the clouds. "NetNavis are merely data; tools for us to use. I've told you this before, haven't I?"

_A thousand times, yes,_ she thought.

"NetNavis only need the correct programming. Any deviations from their core programming, if not beneficial towards us, should be treated as errors and be dealt with." Lan waved his hand airily. "Of course, Dad doesn't agree with me, but facts do. NetNavis are data and that is it."

Maylu knew better than to let Lan talk about what he thought of NetNavis. Still, it surprised her when he said it in response to his father's dream. Dr. Hikari didn't see NetNavis as simply data or tools—Maylu knew that much—so what made Lan think that way? It boggled her mind so she let it go. She wasn't here to argue with Lan. She only wanted to speak with him like they used to; as friends.

"Whatever happened to that World Three guy who attacked the school?" she asked. It wasn't a cheery topic, but it would get them away from Navis. "You arrested him, right? So is he in jail?"

Lan hesitated rather uncharacteristically. Usually if he hesitated he did it to silently insult someone or out of shock of someone's sheer stupidity, but this time he hesitated from what Maylu could only discern as confusion. "We did arrest him, but he was released the next morning. Apparently one of the higher ups believed his crack-pot story of how World Three threatened him." His words smelled of anger, even bitterness. He didn't believe someone so weak, so easily manipulated should be let off the hook because they were _threatened_. It was a coward's excuse used to avoid punishment. "We barely managed to get him put on probation for the next few years. So yes, we did arrest him, but no, he isn't in jail."

"Wow." The word felt like a complete understatement given Lan's feelings on the matter, but Maylu couldn't think of a better word to sum up her reaction to Lan's story. It was just wow. "Was he really threatened, though? I mean, then I could understand it, but…" She stopped when Lan glared at her. Clearly, he had expected her to agree with him on how ridiculous it was, but Maylu wasn't as apathetic as Lan.

The conversation lulled and they sat there, both of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Neither of them did, so they remained in peaceful silence for the next while. At the very least, this meant no arguing.

Now, rewind a few minutes and shift focus to their NetNavis. Megaman streamed into Roll's PET apprehensively. He worried about saying something stupid or doing something to make her hate him—or maybe she already decided to hate him today. All three were entirely plausible, given their inconsistent relationship. One day they were friends, the other she was angry at him for something he said or did. It was possible their relationship was as convoluted as Maylu and Lan's, if not more so.

"Hey Megaman! It's been a while, huh?" She smiled at him and it was so pretty Megaman almost forgot to answer and ended up stammering out a pathetic,

"Y-yeah, it ha-has, ha-ha…"

His crush on her was almost as bad as his crush on Aki, the famous internet pop singer. Now that was less of a crush and more of an obsessive infatuation. Mercifully, his crush on Roll was nowhere near as bad.

"How've you been?" she asked, blissfully unaware of Megaman's nervousness. "You haven't been in Lan's desk comp in forever, and I don't count what happened at school as talking to you."

"Yeah, sorry." He scratched his cheek and frowned slightly. "Master Lan and I have been busy with Official work, so I haven't had the time to hang out." _That, and I really don't care to be around Gutsman and Glyde—Gutsman especially!_ Of course, he'd never say that, because then Roll would really be mad at him.

Roll deadpanned suddenly, crossing her arms and glaring to the side. "Yeah, well, you should still visit sometime."

"I will; I promise."

Roll's glare softened and she looked at Megaman again. She smiled slightly, though her arms remained crossed. "Good." There was brief silence, then, "Hey, have you talked to Protoman yet? Outside of inviting him to the SciLab event, I mean."

Megaman shook his head. "No. It's not as if Master Lan really cares to talk with Chaud anyways, so there's not much of a point…" Roll's look darkened again, so he added, "Though I'm sure we'll chat during the event. I wish you could still come." He _really_ wished Roll could still attend. Megaman enjoyed the banquets as much as a Navi could, sure, but his favorite part always had been spending time with Roll. Usually they'd jack into somewhere and talk, or Megaman would talk and Roll would ignore him if he had angered her recently. It happened rather often; more so than Megaman would like to admit, and it usually was his fault.

They chatted for a few more minutes, sticking with their usual safe topics of, _How is the family?, Anything planned for the weekend?, How are Maylu/Lan coping with the new school year?_; things like that. By then, their NetOps realized that the silence between them (Maylu and Lan) wasn't going to fix itself, and Lan called Megaman back to his PET. "I need to get home," he told Maylu. "I still have some homework to finish."

"Me too." They stood; Lan dusted himself off and straightened his shirt. Maylu tried not to giggle. Sometimes Lan's mannerisms were a little too groomed for her tastes. "I actually planned on meeting the others on the Net later. Maybe you and Megaman can come, too?" She hoped she didn't sound too excited when Lan sneered and shot her down.

"I don't think so. I don't have that kind of time to waste." He turned and walked a few steps before turning to Maylu again. "Hey, do you know why you're tutoring the new kid?"

"Oh, Chaud?"

"Yeah, him."

"He told me he has trouble focusing." She shrugged. "Why?"

Lan smiled innocuously and turned back around. "No reason. Bye."

"Bye?" Maylu shook her head as Lan walked away. "Roll, any idea what just happened here?"

"Not a clue, Maylu."

The girls shared a shrug and headed home.

* * *

"_Unbelievable! I can't believe I'm saying this, but the winner of this year's DenTech Top Netbattler competition is… seven year old Lan Hikari! That's right folks; the boy turned seven only one week ago and already he's officially the Top Netbattler in all of DenTech. I think we just saw history in the making, folks! Never has anyone so young, so skilled graced this competition before. Then again, what can we expect from a Hikari if not the best?"_

Dark. It was very dark.

_Of course it is,_ Lan told himself. _My eyes are closed._

Lan opened his eyes, his body stiff from sleep, and looked outside. It was still light out so he couldn't have slept for long. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and thought back to the dream he had.

It was his first tournament ever. He had barely convinced his parents to let him enter a NetBattling competition, but it turned out to be worth the effort. He and Megaman won by a landslide, dispatching their opponents quickly and easily.

"_What can we expect from a Hikari if not the best?"_

That line resounded in his head. "Nothing," he replied. "We _are_ the best."

"Master Lan?" Megaman's face appeared on the computer screen. He'd been patrolling the Net and deleting viruses ever since Lan fell asleep almost an hour ago. "Ah! I'm glad to see you're awake. Mom made you a snack not long ago, sir, and I told her I'd send you downstairs once you were up. Are you hungry, sir?"

"A bit. What time is it?"

"3:01:27, sir."

Lan nodded. He climbed out of bed and jacked out Megaman. "Did you find anything suspicious during your patrol?" Megaman shook his head. "Good."

"Very, sir."

Lan holstered his PET and headed downstairs. Still, he couldn't unhear the announcer from his dream.

"_What can we expect from a Hikari if not the best?"_

* * *

**A/N: **PearlHikari- Thanks! I just couldn't stay on tangent when I tried answering, though this chapter answers it.

Shuuseki's job- I tried searching for an actual title for Shuuseki, but as of right now he has some generic, low-paying office job.

Fireminer- I probably will give Chaud a strong battle chip to even out the odds a little, but he and Protoman are still a great team, so he doesn't really need one.

Also- It took a combination of saving a lot of money to buy one of the cheaper models and then getting a friend who studied programming to further customize the Navi. Basically, he ended up with a top of a line model for cheap and all it took was for his wife to fall deathly ill for his friend to agree.

Gohan- In the anime Numberman just kept hitting Glyde and eventually the Life Aura started to weaken, so that's what I went with here.

Honestly I goofed when it came to having Gutsman deleted. I overlooked how much damage that was, and I was reading the manga at that time. In there, a roll of 3 managed to damage Gutsman pretty badly, and 6 just absolutely obliterated him. I'll have to fix that when I can.

As for the scenario in episode 2, I don't know. I have it planned but I might just change it.

Finally-[Brevity is not my thing today] Tory will have a role but Lan can't really arrest him for being kidnapped.


End file.
